Don't be fooled: Ballot `no' isn't way to go

OPINION - My WORD

October 29, 2006|By KEN RUSSELL

As far as the Volusia County charter amendments are concerned, "Just Say No" is bad advice.

Some of our cities' elected mayors have spent thousands of public tax dollars to mail out a campaign card advocating a "no" vote on all seven amendments, essentially telling us we are unable to understand each of the amendments.

With this card, these mayors are telling voters there is actually a common theme and purpose in all of these amendments, which makes it appropriate to treat every one of them the same way.

That is nonsense.

Perhaps one of the mayors whose picture appears on the card will explain to his or her constituents just what part of the proposed Dispute Resolution Commission amendment is a power grab by the county, or what it has to do with money.

Perhaps these leaders will explain to their constituents why they think that taking land from the county through municipal annexation is not a power grab, but that an effort to simply retain the current county planning authority, not add to it, is a power grab.

Perhaps they will explain to voters how cities can lose power over land that the cities don't even have any power over now?

Now we are hearing on the radio more unsupported "just vote no on everything" advice from some anonymous Tallahassee organization calling itself "Citizens Against Bigger Government & Higher Taxes Inc."

It would be nice to know where the money is coming from to pay for these radio ads. But it is unlikely that we will know, because the organization has apparently timed its activities precisely so that the contributors don't have to be identified before the election.

It would be very surprising if these contributors did not include builders, developers, large landowners and the lawyers who represent them. These are the same people who gave us the sprawl that we are trying to deal with. In view of the data on how the residents of Volusia feel about sprawl, it is quite understandable that these contributors would want to remain anonymous until after the election.

What is really sad, however, is that the message of these people is exactly the same message that so many elected leaders of Volusia cities are endorsing and telling their voters to support.

I think the Volusia voters are much smarter than some of their elected leaders seem to think they are. I believe they will demonstrate this at the polls.